Little Boxes
by Beaslays
Summary: A collection of gen drabbles from all over the multiverse. No. 7 - Humanformer AU. Shockwave receives Megatron's letter. What this means for her...
1. Relations

I have this huge, sprawling series of stories in my head that will likely never be written. Despite this, small scenes from that just _looove_ getting into my head, and this is where I'll be dumping them as drabbles. Watch out for general unexplained weirdness, as pretty much anything can happen in my head. These won't be limited to just one continuity.

Here's the first one.

Blurb: [G1] Ratchet...the Decepticon?

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><p><strong>Relations<strong>

Getting used to having the former Autobot in their midst had been tough at first, moreso thanks to the many horror stories and rumours he had once - and still was - the subject of. The general consensus however, seemed to be that they were much better off with the medic than without. Indeed, Laserbeak had reported that the Autobots appeared to be in some sort of collective depression, with the commanding officers the only ones keeping everything together. Megatron had been most pleased with this particular turn of events...perhaps uncharacteristically pleased even, to the trained eye.

Not that the Decepticon force was entirely without complaint. There were those who simply couldn't get used to having Ratchet around, and Starscream was the most vocal among them. Everytime he saw the white and red mech, he would casually slip out a thinly veiled insult to either Megatron or Ratchet, though whether this was truly out of dislike for the medic or just his chronic defiance of Megatron was anyone's guess.

Hook had been visibly content to have another hand in repairs, apparently tired of the constant lack of appreciation for his skill. There was also a significant drop in the number of mechs requiring repairs each orn, the cause was, officially,s coming from the failing performance of the Autobots in battle. Everyone knew though, that it was simply because nobody wanted to face Ratchet's wrath so they had all taken to taking care of themselves better. This also meant the Constructicons could devote more time to the experiments Megatron asked of them so often.

In time, the rest of the Decepticons found themselves grudgingly accepting that the medic was here to stay, former Autobot loyalty be damned. Ratchet, for his part, continued to keep to himself, nevermind the fact that he no longer had to watch out for stray pranks in his energon, or the stray pranksters themselves getting in his way. Indeed, some mechs only ever saw or spoke to him when they needed repairs.

The few times he had opened up to them, Ratchet never spoke of the Autobots, and whenever the Decepticons were talking trash of his former comrades, the medic simply found himself another room to take his energon. Though he wore the purple face of the Decepticons on him now, he wasn't ready to forget vorns of camaraderie with the mechs on the other side of the battlefield.

Just as he had never been ready to forget the relation he held with the commander of the Decepticons in the first place.

When he had been an Autobot, before their arrival on Earth, he had found himself haunted by something that could only have been Megatron's ghost. Then the silver mech had turned up alive - and leading an army against that which Ratchet served, no less. With each injured mech brought in, the ghost only made itself more and more obvious. Every crush wound he repaired looked as though it had been inflicted by those powerful black hands, every hole made with a laser looked as though they had been personally delivered with the infamous fusion cannon.

Everywhere Ratchet looked, all he could see had been the destruction dealt out by his brother.

And things only got more complicated when they fell to Earth, and when they woke four million years later to find Optimus Prime dead.

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><p>Concrit is much appreciated!<p> 


	2. Coffee

I'd been thinking about this one for a while, before actually sitting down and writing it. It turned out quite differently from the version in my head.

Blurb: [Movieverse/Animated] Sam has been sent to talk to one Sari Sumdac.

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><p><strong>Coffee<strong>

"So...let me get this straight," she said, breaking the silence, "You're telling me that my car is actually an alien robot from outer space who's stranded here on Earth."

"Uh...yeah," said Sam, quietly looking the woman seated across the small table over again. Her bright red hair, coupled with dark skin and bright blue eyes made her stand out in the otherwise empty and dull cafe, and that was without considering the bright orange dress she wore.

"Well, that's cool," she said, grinning at him. "So do they have names? Like, NDR or...oh! Ruinator - corny but still cool."

Sam scratched the back of his neck, glancing down at the cup of expensive coffee on his side of the table. Sari had insisted on treating him to this particular drink, refusing to take no for an answer.

"His name's Sunstreaker," he said finally, remembering the name from the reports Prowl had been fretting over. They hadn't counted on the Twins accidentally destroying the very cars they had scanned.

"Your coffee's getting cold," said Sari, smiling at him before taking a sip out of her own cup. As she lowered the cup, she spoke some more. "I'm guessing Sunstreaker isn't the only alien robot on this planet."

"He's not," said Sam, shaking his head as picked up his cup of coffee, "He's one of the Autobots, from the planet Cybertron." Hesitant, he brought the cup to his lips, and soon found it tasted a bit too thick and strong. Quickly, he set the cup back down on the table.

"Say," began Sari, still smiling, "That yellow and black Camaro parked across the street wouldn't happen to be yours, would it?"

Sam nodded, smiling a little. This was much easier territory, a more comfortable topic for him. "His name's Bumblebee," he said, with just the slightest hint of pride.

Sari closed her eyes, taking a long sip from her cup, before putting it down on the table. She tilted her head, looking out the window behind Sam, before looking back at Sam and smiling cheerfully. "'Cause he just transformed and I think he's fighting off that other robot."

Sam leapt to his feet with a brief swear, before turning and racing out of the cafe.

Inside, Sari Sumdac leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and mused about what she was going to do with her car.


	3. Memories

Another one. There's some backstory for this one though! Basically, the Autobots raided a Decepticon base, and among the lifeless protoforms they found one with a spark. With the AllSpark gone, this can only be the spark of a pre-existing mech, and the general consensus is that it's some poor Autobot who must have been captured during the war and thus ended up being used in experiments.

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><p><strong>Memories<strong>

The protoform had begun to thrash the moment Ratchet had started talking about sparks, so Sunstreaker and Sideswipe found themselves pinning the youngling down by the arms. Wheeljack had since taken up position by the protoform's legs, holding them down as Ratchet carefully slid open the youngling's chest panel, exposing the hidden spark chamber.

As Ratchet ran his tests and scans, the protoform struggled helplessly against the trio of mechs holding him down, making small, whimpering sounds. The Twins exchanged a look with each other, and with Wheeljack, and all three were thinking the same - this was nothing like the earlier, crazed behavior of the protoform.

"There, all done," said Ratchet, as he slid the protoform's chest panel back into place, and the protoform made no noise in response. Though when Wheeljack tentatively raised his hands, it began thrashing again, prompting the engineer to clamp his hands back down on the thin legs.

"Wheeljack," said the protoform, gazing directly at the engineer with bright red optics. Ratchet had stepped aside with Prime, and the pair was discussing the medic's findings in low voices.

"Why, yes, that _is_ my name," said Wheeljack, deciding to humor the protoform. While being dragged into the medbay earlier, the youngling had called out the names of every single Autobot they had passed by, reinforcing the fear that this might just be an Autobot prisoner whose spark had been transferred into a protoform.

The protoform looked around for a moment, before looking at his legs, then up at Wheeljack.

"Wheeljack," it said again, then, "Wheeljack. Wheeljack. Wheeljack. Wheeljack..." and so on.

Sideswipe bit back a chortle out of his amusement. He grinned at the engineer, who was beginning to look quite nervous, shifting in place with his optics dimming and brightening alternately.

"S-Stop that!" he said finally, after almost an entire minute of the protoform repeating his name. The protoform paused, considering the command for a moment, before looking down at his legs.

"I am not going to release your legs, if all you are going to do is to thrash around and attempt to get away from us," he said, sounding just a tad tired. This seemed to work though, in getting the protoform to stop talking, as he lay his head back down on the berth, looking up at the Twins instead. Ratchet and Prime had stopped talking as well, instead simply observing the protoform.

"He-ey," said Sideswipe, suddenly breaking the uneasy silence, "You think it knows us, Sunny? It hasn't said a thing to us yet."

"How am I supposed to know?" growled Sunstreaker, frowning at the protoform. "If this thing calls me Sunny, I'm going to slag you, Sides."

"Nah, I'm sure it knows who we are," said Sideswipe, looking down at the protoform. "Hey, you know who me and my brother are, right?"

The protoform looked up at him for a moment, as though considering what he had heard, or perhaps even searching his memory banks for a name. Then -

"Slagger," it said, directing this at Sideswipe, before turning its head to look pointedly at Sunstreaker, "Fragger."

"What - you little - !"

The resulting verbal war managed to earn a few chuckles from even Prime, and Ratchet couldn't help but grin.

"Whoever this mech really is," he said, "I think I like him already."

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><p>I've started posting these to my Dreamwidth, in case anyone's interested. As always, reviews and concrit are much appreciated!<p> 


	4. Awakening

This is a short piece, but I personally like it a lot. The premise comes from one of my older fics which I deleted some time ago. Oh, and spoilers for TF:A episode "Along Came a Spider", in case there's still anyone out there reading this who doesn't know about Elita-1.

Also contains a Beast Wars character.

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><p><strong>Awakening<strong>

Megatron had plans for her.

She was certain of it. Why else would he keep a disfigured Autobot in his brig? Be it for target practice, or some other much more nefarious intention, she was at the Decepticons' mercy.

Elita-1 would have wept for herself, had she any tears left. Now, there was only an emptiness within her, a most hollow feeling that had taken hold of her spark and threatened to tear it out completely, even as she sat in her cell with her arms wrapped around her knees. She contemplated activating her kill switch several times, but each time she berated herself.

From the ashes of this emptiness, came a feeling she had never quite experienced before, and it was by this strange, yet strong emotion that she swore she would rid herself of this disgusting body, and perhaps even attain her revenge on the ones who had...It hurt to think about them.

Then, one day, she awoke to find an odd-looking mech in her cell.

Blackarachnia, he called her, right before introducing himself as Tarantulas.

Elita thought about it, then decided she liked her new name.

Megatron might have had plans for her, but too bad for him, she had plans for herself.

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><p>As usual, reviews are appreciated!<p> 


	5. Homecoming

This is more of an exercise in describing a city than in talking about Starscream. While I really like how the piece came out, I ended up not describing Vos as much as I would have liked to. Oh, and this is supposed to take place shortly after Starscream lost Skyfire.

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><p><strong>Homecoming<strong>

The city lay before him, a network of metal laid out in the form of a grid. The first slivers of sunlight had just begun to reach its border, casting a soft orange glow over that part of the city. Starscream swooped low, diving into one of the many roads and flying under several walkways before pulling back up. The 'roads', really just the open airspace between buildings, were empty at this time, save for the few youths making their way home after a night of over-energizing. They flew low, almost to the ground.

The few walkways connecting the buildings in the city were equally empty, perhaps even more so as the handful of ground-based beings in the city had long since learned not to step outside when over-energized. A single push was all it would take for them to fall to their deaths, worse still was the considerable number of natives who found it most amusing to grab them as they flew by. Indeed, this was not a city for those incapable of flight - this was a city dominated and defined by its intimate relation with the sky.

He landed on one of the ledges protruding from a nearby building, peering through the doorway just past it. This was one of the wealthier districts, and it was likely this particular apartment he had come upon belonged to some rich family. Not that it mattered - he had no intention of staying any longer than a few cycles. He dared not stop by his old apartment, for no doubt the landlady had rented it out to some other fortunate mech.

Mechs had begun to come out, flying about and filling the sky with aircrafts of all sizes. Starscream grimaced, sitting upon the ledge and letting his feet dangle in the air. He could feel it, the city beckoning to him, to have him rejoin his fellow fliers in the air, to weave amongst them as though nothing could touch him. Once, a long time ago, Starscream might have allowed himself to do just that and to let go of his recent circumstances, but the many stellar cycles between then and now had changed him. It seemed to him though, that nothing could change this city, nothing short of an all-out attack. Many disasters had occurred here in his time away, and still, the city lived on, and still, the city continued to embrace the sky.

For a moment, Starscream truly considered joining the throng of fliers in the air. What better way to deal with his loss, to deal with the dullness of life, than to lose himself among others of his kind? Up there, among them, he would just be another mech, not Starscream the scientist. Up there, among mechs of all sorts of lifestyles, some workers, some soldiers, some office mechs.

He lingered, for just another moment, standing there upon that ledge, listening to the signs of morning life within the apartment behind him. The whirring of a mech's systems as he exited recharge, the faint thud of an energon cube carelessly dropped upon a table. Perhaps, in some other time, Starscream could have had an ordinary life, but no, instead he took off, transforming, and thus began the long flight south to Kaon, where rumours of an uprising had originated.

And not once did he look back.


	6. Changes 1

This one is...weird, to say the least. Then again, I did warn for that at the start. Well, anyway, this is a **Humanformer AU**. Worse, Megatron, Soundwave and Shockwave somehow decided they wanted to be women and proceeded to laugh at me when I claimed it was really creepy. So, yeah, have a drabble that turned into a long ficlet about female Megatron and Starscream.

This is also the first in a trio of drabbles set in this same AU, simply because both Shockwave and Soundwave demanded to have some screen time.

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><p><strong>Changes 1<strong>

Starscream fascinated her. Of this, Megatron was not afraid to admit.

She was not the only one with this fascination either. Every woman on base - barring Soundwave - had shown interest in the man at least once, even the ones in command. Certainly they thought Megatron did not know, but Soundwave had reported several advances upon the pilot. Particularly from Shockwave.

Megatron was displeased, both with the implications Soundwave's reports held and with her own fascination in Starscream.

Perhaps her fascination was for entirely different reasons than any of the other women's though. Even as she worked and approved new recruits to the army, her mind often wandered to the reports on Starscream's background. The man was a walking contradiction, and Megatron wanted nothing more than to break past his fronts and find out just what was going on in his mind.

Starscream had graduated with degrees in all sorts of sciences, yet here he was in Megatron's army. She was certain the pilot would be much happier in a lab than out on the battlefield, yet, at the same time, Starscream appeared to enjoy the battles. There were also rumors that he was becoming attached to a few other pilots, one of the established set of partners in particular.

There was also the now-famous story of the man's ability to charm with a single look - then he started talking, and everyone in the room had cleared out immediately.

Megatron spared the clock on the wall a glance. She did not, in fact, have the time to be dealing with Starscream; her schedule was full enough. Yet, at the same time, she wanted to get the inevitable talk out of the way...except Starscream was already late.

She busied herself with her paperwork while waiting, and even when Starscream knocked at the door and she allowed him to enter, she continued to work. Megatron paid him no attention for several more minutes - a deliberate test on the pilot's patience.

After a while though, the man began to fidget, and it was not long before he started talking. "Commander Megatron, you called for me?" said Starscream, gazing at her. He was fidgeting with his gold and white tie, nervous, or at the very least, restless. "I have...things to attend...to..." He faltered as Megatron looked up and cast her stony gaze upon him.

Megatron smirked internally. No doubt the pilot was wondering why he was here, what misdeed he must have done. Then again...she considered his personality, and decided he was likely too arrogant to be afraid of whatever reason she had called him here for.

"What do you think of Thundercracker and Skywarp?" she asked, casually leaning back and making an elaborate display of putting her pen down. She recalled that these two pilots were the pair Starscream was reported to be spending plenty of time with.

The question threw Starscream off guard. He blinked, surprised, before retooling his expression to something less compromising. "They're both skilled pilots," he said, though his tone was guarded and told Megatron he would much rather be talking about himself. Megatron smirked, visibly this time.

"They are, are they not?" she said, picking her pen up again and twirling it, "I have the mind to promote them. Thundercracker certainly has the intelligence to make Wing Commander..."

This caught Starscream's attention, as he straightened considerably and attempted to discretely smooth out the hem of his red jacket (though the motion was anything _but_ discrete). Megatron waited for him to speak, twirling her pen some more, even as he opened his mouth.

"Frankly, sir," began Starscream, frowning, "Thundercracker is indecisive. Hardly a trait officers should have."

"And I suppose you fancy yourself capable where he is not."

Starscream hesitated for a moment, then, "...yes. Sir."

Megatron chuckled. There was something amusing about this situation, that the handsome young man before her would admit to his ambition so easily. Yet, it was not necessarily ambition behind his words. Megatron was very much familiar with the feeling of confidence that came with knowing just how powerful one was.

"You are a scientist," she said, leaning forward and resting her elbows on the desk as she clasped her hands together, "What do you know of commanding other men, of leading them to their deaths? Of making decisions for those same men?"

"I have the time to learn," answered Starscream, taking a small step closer, towards the desk. "I need only the opportunity."

"Then the first thing you must learn is knowing when to be bold." Megatron allowed her expression to darken, gazing at him sternly.

But Starscream only stayed where he was, fierce determination in his eyes, confidence apparently boosted quite a bit. "Then I can start right away," he said. Megatron held his gaze, tilting her head up a little as she considered him. She narrowed her eyes as she did so, using her most piercing look.

Starscream held the moment for a while longer, before lowering his gaze.

"Much to learn indeed," said Megatron, leaning back and visibly relaxing. Starscream said nothing further, lips tightly pressed together and brow furrowed as he watched her. Megatron moved only her hand, picking up a long, white envelope on her desk.

She held it out to him. Starscream blinked, and stared at with an expression Megatron could only call stupid.

"Take this to Shockwave," she said, slipping into a more commanding tone. Starscream moved, raising his hand to take the envelope, confusion clear in his brown eyes. He took great care not to crease the envelope.

"Dismissed," said Megatron, picking up her pen. Starscream backed away, towards the door, still looking confused about this sudden change. Megatron ignored him, focusing on the reports on her desk again, and Starscream finally took the hint.

He pulled open the door, the envelope clutched delicately between long fingers.

"Starscream."

The pilot stopped, then turned again. Megatron was still focused on her work, and her tone was quiet, but it was loud enough to reach him.

"You have my permission to defend yourself as you see fit."

Megatron smirked when the pilot left the room looking even more confused.


	7. Changes 2

This one follows on from the previous drabble. It's still a Humanformer AU wherein Megatron, Shockwave and Soundwave are female. Horrible, I know, but they refuse to stop being creepy and won't leave my brain.

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><p><strong>Changes 2<strong>

When she learned that Starscream was looking for her, Shockwave could not help her amusement.

Just this morning she had made another rather obvious hint at the pilot that she would very much enjoy copulating with him. He had gotten flustered, and attempted to flee her clutches. Undoubtedly, he'd been very grateful to a certain pair of pilots for coming in at the right moment.

Shockwave was not at all attracted to the pilot. Oh yes, he was handsome and all, but Shockwave only teased him because he was the only man who had not shown any form of interest in her. She had a sort of reputation for that, having turned down every single man who had ever propositioned her. So the one man who hadn't tried yet and didn't seem like trying any time soon - well, Shockwave liked challenges, if only to amuse herself with Starscream.

Shockwave had no interest in men, really, and such a thing had aided her as she rose through the military ranks. Where Megatron had claimed her position as supreme commander through a combination of skill and fear, Shockwave had acquired hers through sheer hard work and simply being the most focused out of anyone present.

It helped that she simply adored Megatron, and the other woman had come to treat her as a confidant, even as a friend sometimes.

As far as Shockwave was concerned, Starscream was a toy.

So it was certainly a surprise that the pilot was looking for her now. Shockwave had spent the entire afternoon toying with him, moving around the different departments to perform surprise inspections, all of which she and Megatron had scheduled for today.

Somehow, word had not spread about the inspections, but the entire base knew Starscream was looking for her - and rumor had it that he was on some errand for Megatron and such.

When the pilot finally caught up with her, she was with the scientists, a tight group of six who distrusted anyone outside their group. Starscream stood at the door, arms crossed, looking annoyed as usual.

Shockwave finished speaking with Scrapper, the head of the scientists, before turning to Starscream.

"Yes?" Shockwave allowed herself to look him over, take in his appearance. Crisp and clean, as usual. If there was one thing certain about the pilot, it was that he was incredibly, incredibly vain.

"Megatron wanted me to give this to you." He moved, closing the gap between them and holding out a long white envelope. Starscream was looking at her with an openly hateful look, and certainly he was smart enough to know better...

Perhaps Shockwave was starting to push things too far. Ah well, it did not matter.

She reached out and took the envelope, their fingers brushing against each other's for a moment. Starscream recoiled, withdrawing his hand the moment Shockwave had secured the envelope in her grasp.

She opened it, and read.

_Shockwave,_

_Starscream is to take your position, effective immediately._

_-Megatron_

Shockwave froze, and felt her blood run cold. This wasn't right, this couldn't be. Megatron was - Megatron knew she was the best, the only one good for the job. Soundwave was too cold for the role of second in command. Shockwave...though she worked with logic, she allowed herself to feel. To care. And the men _loved_ her, not just as herself, but as their commander. They followed her willingly!

And Megatron-how could she do this to her?

Shockwave felt the betrayal blossom, the sense of anger, of hate.

And then she realized she had let her emotions overcome her again. Surely...surely this was a ruse, a trick. Megatron would _never_ betray her. It must have been that Starscream wanted the position himself, so he-

Shockwave drew her gun, and raised it, aiming at Starscream.

The pilot jumped back, startled. "What are you doing!" he shouted in that voice which was far too many pitches higher than it should have been.

She saw with clarity the shape of this man before her, of he who was called Starscream. She saw how ugly he truly was, how he was a man of lies, of deceit. Here was a man who would ruin everything she and Megatron had worked for, would tear it down with his own hands.

"Commander Shockwave, what is the meaning of this?" demanded Starscream.

"You dare bring such a thing to me?" snarled Shockwave, "You are a fool- *I* was a fool to think you would be worthy!"

Starscream was backing away, stepping back towards the door. Fear- fear was evident in his eyes, and Shockwave allowed herself to relish it, to enjoy the moment.

She fired - just as someone else did.


	8. Changes 3

Whoops, it sure has been a while. Last part of that humanformer AU, I swear.

...unless Starscream demands a part of his own.

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><p><strong>Changes 3<strong>

Starscream was, as far as Soundwave was concerned, nothing but a minor inconvenience.

The pilot was unusual, yes, but Soundwave had seen her fair share of strange men and women in her lifetime. A single childish pilot changed nothing. He was not a variable in the grand scheme of things.

Soundwave intended to keep it that way, even when Megatron had expressed her interest, had hinted at making the pilot an officer. A mistake, in Soundwave's eyes. The man was even worse than Shockwave at controlling his emotions, and he was too easy to read.

Arrogant, childish, vain...but certainly a skilled pilot. Soundwave saw nothing attractive in him, and thought both Megatron and Shockwave were silly to pursue him in one way or the other. At least the foolish boy had not reciprocated. Soundwave would have to arrange for his death if that occurred.

It would be easy too. Her twins had already begun training as saboteurs. They were certainly small enough for the job, and could easily cause a few malfunctions during Starscream's next flight. The reports would come in, and Soundwave could manipulate them, make them seem like his own fault.

Megatron trusted her completely. She would be none the wiser about an "accident".

Oh, it was tempting, but Soundwave knew better than to test Megatron's trust, especially when she had just been given a new mission.

She was to watch both Shockwave and Starscream as they unwittingly took Megatron's test. So she had lurked in the shadows the whole day, and nobody dared approach her thanks to her reputation. Silently she had followed the pilot around, for he was less attuned to her presence than Shockwave.

Shockwave was one variable Soundwave would take great pleasure in replacing with someone else. Though the second in command claimed to follow logic, Soundwave knew better. The woman was illogical. She doted upon Megatron, insane and blind with her admiration, not for once seeing that Megatron held nothing but contempt and even distaste for her indiscriminate and indisciplined ways.

Shockwave tried too hard. Soundwave didn't even try, and she knew Megatron would prefer her company over the other woman's any day.

So she followed Starscream silently, hiding herself when he came upon Shockwave in the laboratory with the scientists.

Megatron had not said anything about intervention, but when Shockwave pulled her gun on the pilot, Soundwave raised her own.

She shot the contents on the table behind Shockwave just as the other woman fired her gun at Starscream. Soundwave watched as the bullet embedded itself within the pilot's shoulder, and he screeched in pain and fury. She watched as Shockwave turned - only to be greeted by a burst of flame from the chemicals the scientists had been working on. She could hear them shouting and panicking, hurrying to put an end to this unfortunate disaster.

Shockwave screamed the loudest. The flames had licked away at her face, and she staggered back, stumbling away and toward Starscream. The pilot hesitated, took one look at her, and fled, nursing his own injury.

Soundwave lingered for just a moment, long enough to see the fire put out, and the scientists rush to the officer's side. Soundwave moved, still silent, and bent to pick up the crumpled piece of paper a good distance away from the commotion. She didn't need to look at it to know what it said.

Starscream was not a variable, and Soundwave intended to keep it that way. As for Shockwave…well, Soundwave had a feeling Megatron's contempt for the woman would only grow after this incident.

Soundwave turned and disappeared into the shadows. It was time to manipulate some reports.


End file.
